Results for Aimee Mann

interviews

461The Both

Ted Leo and Aimee Mann seem like an unlikely pairing: he's punk, she's folk, but as The Both, the duo make beautiful music together. And inspiration for forming this“mutual admiration society”came from some strange places including Twitter and a shared love of comedy and Thin Lizzy. And the project seems to have been liberating for both musicians—freeing them up from their typecast constraints of“political rocker”or“singer-songwriter.”Ted and Aimee perform songs from The Both's self-titled debut, including a celebration of "Milwaukee" and its utterly bizarre "Bronze Fonz."

61Ted Leo

This week, Jim and Greg are joined by singer-songwriter Ted Leo in front of an audience at the Goose Island Tap Room in Chicago. Leo gained fame in the early attention with his tuneful yet political approach to punk rock with his band the Pharmacists. But it's been seven years since Leo's last album. In that time, he formed a successful collaboration with Aimee Mann as The Both (who were Sound Opinions guests in 2014). But his family also suffered emotional and financial crises, which inform his ambitious new album, The Hanged Man.

The album's expansive sound is the product of being able to tinker alone in his new home studio in Rhode Island. No longer on a label, Leo crowdfunded the album through Kickstarter and released it himself. Ted Leo discusses how his personal turmoil affected his music and how his fanbase gave him a lift. He also gives an intimate solo performance of songs from The Hanged Man.

106Jon Brion

Jim and Greg revisit one of their favorite interviews in the history of the show: a 2006 conversation with multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and film composer Jon Brion. Brion has produced for artists like Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Spoon, and Kanye West and worked as a session player for Macy Gray and others. He's collaborated with filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson, Michel Gondry, and Charlie Kaufman, providing the score for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Punch-Drunk Love, Synechdoche, New York, I ♥ Huckabees, and more.

But Jon Brion is also an accomplished solo artist with one solo album, Meaningless, to his name. Brion has grown a devoted following for his decades-long residency at the Los Angeles club Largo. At his shows, Brion improvises spectacular sets of originals and covers as he shows off his virtuosity on every instrument. He demonstrates his skills through performances of some of his compositions in front of a small audience. He also demonstrates to Jim and Greg the difference between the art of songwriting (as exemplified by Gershwin and Kurt Cobain) and what he calls "performance pieces."

298Aimee Mann

This week Jim and Greg are joined by Aimee Mann. On her latest release Charmer, we get a series of character sketches all about charmers-from the charismatic to the completely narcissistic. As a veteran of the music biz, it's a topic about which we're sure Aimee knows a thing or three. But, she insists that the album isn't just an L.A. story. She does, however, pull in some impressive celebrities for the vidoes. Check out Jon Hamm and Jon Wurster in the Tom Scharpling-directed "Labrador," which is a shot-by-shot remake of Aimee's classic hit "Voices Carry." Then there's Laura Linney in the title track. Amy talks with Jim and Greg about spoofing herself, her affinity for comedians and her feelings about piracy. She also performs songs from the new album, as well as her Oscar-nominated tune "Save Me."

1305Jon Brion

Jon Brion visits the show this week to perform and talk with Jim and Greg. Brion is mostly known for his production work with artists like Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple and Kanye West. Brion is also responsible for the innovative soundtracks to Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist was in town to perform at Chicago's Intonation Music Festival, and he stopped by to meet with our hosts, as well as a live studio audience.

What listeners may not know is that Jon Brion is also an accomplished solo artist, albeit not a prolific one. He holds a residency at Los Angeles club Largo, where he performs a cabaret-style act. Recently, however, a severe case of tendinitis has prevented Brion from playing live much. Lucky for Jim, Greg, and the audience, he was able to play both the piano and the "taro patch" during the interview. You can hear Brion perform "Knock Yourself Out" from I Heart Huckabees and the theme to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the show.

One of the ideas our guest discusses with Jim and Greg is the art of the song. He finds songs to be“astonishing”and distinguishes them from“performance pieces.”Brion's example is the music of Led Zeppelin. He loves Zeppelin, but asks the listener to compare their melodies to that of someone like George Gershwin. Brion adds that one rocker who did manage to write wonderfully constructed songs that will stand the test of time is Kurt Cobain. Listen to how he plays Nirvana's "Lithium" followed by an old Cole Porter standard.

specials

379The Moog

Guitars, bass, drums…blah blah blah. This week it's all about the Moog! The Bob Moog-invented synthesizer has experienced a resurgence in popularity in the past few years. New artists love the analog sound, and many are gathering at next week's MoogFest in Bob Moog's adopted hometown of Asheville, NC. Jim and Greg talk to Brian Kehew, the Bob Moog Foundation's official historian, about the synthesizer's history and legacy. Kehew also co-founded an all-analog band called Moog Cookbook in the '90s and has worked in the studio with Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann and Moog superstars, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. In addition to ELP, Kehew points to the following as great synthesizer musicians:

Great Moog-ers

Wendy Carlos

Stevie Wonder

Return to Forever

The Monkees

Brian Eno

Kraftwerk

Kinky

Chromeo

And two of Jim and Greg's favorite Moog tracks are "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock and "Les Yper-Sound" by Stereolab.

129The Moog

The Moog company of Asheville, North Carolina recently announced it would end production on its flagship synthesizer, the Minimoog Voyager. That got Jim and Greg to thinking about the incredible influence the Moog synthesizer has had on rock and pop music since it debuted in 1964. Robert Moog's invention has seen a renaissance in the past decade, as acts ranging from M83 to Future Islands to Taylor Swift have taken inspiration from the synthpop sound.

To get some perspective on the Moog's history and legacy, Jim and Greg turn to Brian Kehew, the former official historian for the Bob Moog Foundation. Kehew also co-founded an all-analog band called Moog Cookbook in the '90s and has worked in the studio with Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann and Moog superstars Emerson, Lake & Palmer. In addition to ELP, Kehew points to the following as great synthesizer musicians:

Great Moog-ers

Wendy Carlos

Stevie Wonder

Return to Forever

The Monkees

Brian Eno

Kraftwerk

Kinky

Chromeo

And two of Jim and Greg's favorite Moog tracks are "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock and "Les Yper-Sound" by Stereolab.

reviews

2644The Both The Both

Unlike other collaborations, Jim and Greghavereviewed in recent memory, the coming together of two of indie rock's most esteemed stars, Aimee Mann and Ted Leo, finally feels like a collaboration that works. Mann is probably best known for her Grammy and Academy Award nominated songs in director Paul Thomas Anderson's film Magnolia, while Leo has been the leader of the Ted Leo and The Pharmacists for the past fifteen years. Known collectively as The Both, the two singer-songwriters have released a record that Greg thinks does a remarkable job of creating a sound all it's own instead of just sounding like Leo and Mann took at the wheel of every other song. Leo's impressive guitar playing perfectly underscores Mann's emotional melodies throughout, making The Both a Buy It for Greg. Jim thinks the potential to bring together Mann's penchant for heartbreak and Leo's political idealism is there, but the two eschew all of that in favor of an album that amounts to just a decent collection of pop songs. Jim expected more, but likes enough of what he hears to recommend listeners Try It.

1671Aimee Mann Mental Illness

Aimee Mann began her career as the lead singer of the Bostonsynth pop band 'Til Tuesday in the 1980s. Since then, she's had a successful solo career, most notably with her 2000 album Bachelor No. 2. She's just released her first solo record in five years, Mental Illness. Jim thinks that this is one of Mann's best efforts. He loves her minimal use of instrumentation and thoughtful lyrics. While he's not a fan of the singer-songwriter genre, he digs Aimee Mann and gives Mental Illness a Buy It. Greg is also a longtime Aimee Mann fan, and thinks this record is one of her all-time best. Her intelligent lyrics and melancholy vocals make Mental Illness a superb album. He gives it a Buy It.

lists

417Unrequited Love Songs

What would rock ‘n’ roll be if not for the thousands of songs about love and heartbreak? Jim and Greg explore this legacy for this week's Valentine's Day episode featuring the best Unrequited Love Songs:

Jim

Redd Kross, "I Don't Know How to Be Your Friend"

Bill Withers, "Ain't No Sunshine"

Roky Erickson, "You Don't Love Me Yet"

Aimee Mann, "Save Me"

Greg

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps"

Smoking Popes, "Need You Around"

Jurassic 5, "Thin Line"

Billy Bragg, "A New England"

Our hosts don't leave out all of our lovelorn listeners. Here are their favorite tracks about love not returned:

Songs About the Music Industry

Rock ‘n’ roll is all about railing against the“man.”And for musicians, there's no bigger man than the record business. Some songs celebrate music's great A&R men and women or label heads. Many more skewer the suits. Here are Jim and Greg's favorites:

And some more #1s from the listeners!

653Short but Sweet

Today's episode highlights the short, but sweet. Jim and Greg have chosen their favorite tiny tunes that clock in at two minutes or under. There are some musicians and fans that believe that the longer the composition, the more important (Prog rockers we're talking to you), but it is possible to pack all the elements of a successful song-verse, chorus, bridge, even a solo-into a petite punch. So here are the best Short But Sweet tracks. But don‘t blink or you’ll miss 'em.

Greg

The White Stripes, "Fell in Love with a Girl"

Maurice and the Zodiacs, "Stay"

Aimee Mann, "Just Like Anyone"

Eddie Cochran, "Summertime Blues"

Janis Joplin, "Mercedes Benz"

Jim

451Secret Love Songs for Valentine's Day

As Aimee Mann once sung, "Hush Hush, keep it down now…voices carry!" But despite that plea and desire for secrecy, musicians have been coming clean about their loving feelings since the beginning of the rock era. So to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, Jim and Greg reveal their favorite "Secret Love Songs." These could be admissions of an illicit romance, expressions of forbidden emotions or professions of a secret crush. Enjoy (but keep it on the down-low).

Jim

Millie Jackson, "If Loving You is Wrong (I Don't Wanna Be Right)"

Pulp, "Babies"

Olivia Newton-John, "I Honestly Love You (featuring Babyface)"

Sophie B. Hawkins, "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"

Greg

595Songs About the Music Business

Rock ‘n’ roll is all about railing against the“man.”And for musicians, there's no bigger man than the record business. Some songs celebrate music's great A&R men and women or label heads. Many more skewer the suits. Here are Jim and Greg's favorites:

Jim

Pink Floyd, "Have a Cigar"

Public Enemy, "Caught, Can I Get a Witness"

Patti Smith's cover of "So You Wanna Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star"

Local H, "Laminate Man"

Greg

news

109Music News

It's been a rough week for digital music. First Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich openly criticize Spotify and boot Atoms for Peace songs from the streaming service. The, the Musicians' Union in the U.K. threaten a boycott if Spotify doesn't raise its royalty rates. And now Aimee Mann is suing MediaNet, which provides millions of songs to dozens of music services. She's seeking damages for "willful copyright infringement."

Sure, we could imagine Bono going for an “EGOT,” but "Commander"? The Irish rocker was recently awarded the country's highest cultural honor: Commander of Arts and Letters in recognition of his contributions to the arts and to charity. Rapper Nas was also given an unusual honor. Harvard University has established the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship as part of its Hip-Hop Archive and W.E.B. Du Bois Institute.

Since its launch in 2008, Record Store Day has become something music fans eagerly anticipate. And now they'll also have…wait for it…Cassette Store Day! True, there aren't many stores that solely sell cassettes, but on September 7, a number of bands will release special cassettes and artists like The Flaming Lips, Deerhunter and At the Drive-In will reissue albums on cassettes. So breakout your Walkman and get ready.